PRESIDENT Duterte has approved the final guidelines and recommendations of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on the implementation of the general community quarantine (GCQ) and the extended enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) starting May 1, which includes the resumption of operations of some transportation services and of religious gatherings and the reopening of industries in some areas.
“It’s been approved by the President. This is a final report and it has been approved and the signed document will be issued in due course,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said during a virtual briefing from Malacañang on Thursday.
PLACES UNDER ECQ
Roque said extended ECQ will be effective from 12:01 a.m. of May 1 up to 11:59 a.m. of May 15 in the 16 cities and one municipality in the National Capital Region, the five provinces of the Southern Tagalog region or Calabarzon region (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) and the six provinces of Central Luzon, namely Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Zambales and Tarlac. The province of Aurora is now out of ECQ.
Roque said the provinces of Pangasinan, Benguet, Iloilo and Cebu and in the cities of Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu and Davao will also be under ECQ.
He said the primary basis for the ECQ inclusion is the high number of positive COVID-19 cases and the capacity of the health care system of the covered areas.
Roque said starting May 16, all decisions to impose, lift, or extend a community quarantine in provinces, highly urbanized cities (HUCs) and independent component cities (ICCs) shall be made by the IATF.
He said provincial governors and local chief executives of cities and municipalities are shall only authorized to impose, lift, or extend ECQ in their areas upon the concurrence of regional ITAF committees.
“No LGU shall declare its own community quarantine, regardless of nomenclature, without observing the foregoing procedure” he stressed.
COMMON GUIDELINES
Roque said that under both the ECQ and GCQ, all persons are mandated to continue wearing face masks — whether ear-loop masks, indigenous, reusable, do-it-yourself masks, face shields, handkerchiefs, or other protective gears when going out of their homes.
Local government units (LGUS) will continue to implement curfews and come up with the necessary local ordinances for its enforcement. Also, Roque said LGUs should implement “fair and humane” penalties against persons who will violate movement restrictions and other health protocols.
Roque said lessees and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) not permitted to operate during the lockdown period are given another 30-days grace period on the payment of residential and commercial rents that fall within the duration of the ECQ or GCQ.
He said supermarkets, public and private wet markets, grocery stores, agri-fishery supply stores, veterinary supply stores, pharmacies, drug stores, and other retail establishments engaged in the business of selling essential goods are still strongly encouraged to extend their store operations to a maximum of 12 hours and to continue to observe schemes to ensure compliance with strict social distancing measures like providing for specific daily schedules per sector or barangay, as the case may be.
SECTORS AND INDUSTRIES UNDER ECQ AND GCQ
Roque said previous guidelines issued on the implementation of the ECQ and the GCQ had been adopted by the IATF and approved by the President, except for some minor changes.
He said persons under 21 years old and those aged 60 and up with immunodeficiency, co-morbidities or other health risks, and pregnant women are still “required to remain in their residences at all times, except when indispensable under the circumstances for obtaining essential goods and services or for work in permitted industries and offices.”
Roque said there had been a lot of appeals to allow some senior citizens return to work, especially “decision makers” in private companies, or to go out to purchase their food and medicine, especially if there are no other persons available in their homes can do it for them.
Roque said manufacturing and processing plants of basic food products, medicine and vitamins, medical supplies, devices and equipment, and essential products are allowed to continue operation with up to 50 percent of their work force unless the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) authorized them to temporarily increase their workforce capacity to improve supply production.
Also allowed to resume are the capital markets, including but not limited to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Securities and Exchange Commission, Philippine Stock Exchange, Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corporation, Philippine Securities Settlement Corporation, and Philippine Depository and Trust Corporation are now allowed to operate.
Workers accredited by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to work on utility relocation works, and specified limited works across 13 railway projects, including replacement works for the Manila Metro Rail Transit System Line 3 are also allowed to continue their work subject to availability of on-site or near-site accommodations and/or point-to-point shuttle services.
Construction workers accredited by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to work on facilities identified for purposes of quarantine and isolation, including such facilities for the health sector, emergency works, flood control, and other disaster risk reduction and rehabilitation works shall also be allowed to continue under the ECQ and GCQ.
He said others allowed to operate are:
* Delivery services, whether in-house or outsourced, transporting food, medicine, essential goods, clothing, accessories, hardware, housewares, school and office supplies, as well as pet food and other veterinary products
* Power, energy, water, information technology and telecommunications supplies and facilities, including waste disposal services, as well as property management and building utility services, along with energy companies and their third-party contractors and service providers like those involved in electric transmission and distribution, electric power plant and line maintenance, electricity market and retail suppliers, as well as those involved in the exploration, operations, trading and delivery of coal, oil, crude or petroleum and by-products
* Telecommunications companies, internet service providers, cable television providers, including those who perform indirect services such as the technical, sales, and other support personnel, as well as the employees of their third-party contractors doing sales, installation, maintenance and repair works
* Employees of the Philippine Postal Corporation at a capacity necessary to maintain the prompt delivery of services to its clients
* Veterinary clinics
* Security personnel
* The Philippine Statistics Authority, at a capacity necessary to conduct data gathering and survey activities related to COVID-19 and the registration and implementation of the national identification (ID) system
* Funeral and embalming services
* Pastors, priests, imams or such other religious ministers whose movement shall be related to the conduct of funeral rites
* Humanitarian assistance personnel from civil society organizations (CSOs), non-government organizations (NGOs), and United Nations humanitarian country teams, as well as individuals performing relief operations to augment the government’s response against COVID-19 and other disasters or calamities that may occur, and
* Airline and aircraft maintenance employees, including pilots and crew, and ship captains and crew.
Roque said the movement of cargo vehicles shall remain unhampered, along with vehicles used by public utility companies, BPOs, and export-oriented establishments. The PNP, on the other hand, will continue to retain its authority to conduct inspection procedures in checkpoints only for ensuring that protocols on strict home quarantine are still observed.
He said government offices and private corporations are still encouraged to process payrolls online but would allow payroll managers and such other employees that may be required to process payrolls and print payrolls to travel and operate under the quarantine period if they cannot do so online.
Other exemptions from the home quarantine requirement from previous IATF resolutions or issuances by the Office of the President shall be honored.
MEDIA
Roque said under the ECQ, media establishments are also allowed to resume office operations with up to a maximum operational capacity of 50 percent of their total permanent staff complement as registered under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), inclusive of reporters and other field employees, as accredited by the Presidential Communications Operations Office. He said it may operate only at full capacity under the GCQ.
GCQ
Roque said under the GCQ, the movement of all persons shall be limited to accessing essential goods and services, and for work in the offices or industries permitted to operate but movement for leisure purposes along with amusement, gaming, and fitness establishments, kids and the tourism industries are not allowed.
He said under the GCQ, work in government offices may be at full operational capacity but with available alternative work arrangements and accordance with the relevant rules and regulations issued by the Civil Service Commission (CSC).
Companies involved in agriculture, food, retail, health, logistics, information technology and telecommunication are also allowed to operate at full operational capacity.
Those allowed to operate from 50 percent to their full capacity under the GCQ include those in mining and other manufacturing, export-oriented, and electronic commerce companies, repair and maintenance, and housing and office services.
Financial services, BPOs, legal and accounting, and auditing services, professional, scientific, technical, and other non-leisure services, and other non-leisure wholesale and retail establishments, can operate at a 50 percent capacity and may include work-on-site arrangement; while malls and shopping centers may also be shall be allowed to partially open.
Roque said no hotels or similar establishments shall be allowed to operate, except those accommodating guests who have existing booking accommodations as of May 1 or have existing long-term bookings, distressed or repatriated Overseas Filipino Workers and stranded Filipinos or foreign nationals, overseas Filipinos required to undergo mandatory facility-based quarantine, and healthcare workers and other employees from exempted establishments.
He said physical classes remain suspended for the duration of the GCQ but some higher education institutions (HEIs) may hold classes through flexible learning arrangements to finish the current 2019-2020 Academic Year.
He said mass gatherings are still prohibited except for “essential work gatherings and religious activities… so long as strict social distancing, defined as the strict maintenance of at least two (2)-meters distance between and among those attending, and the mandatory wearing of face mask, face shield, or other facial protective equipment by attendees, is maintained during the entirety of the event.”
Later in the day, Roque said he has asked the IATF to reconsider allowing religious gatherings to resume after getting complaints from government leaders.
“Dahil hindi naman po tayo pwedeng magbingi-bingihan sa mga protestang ito, minabuti ko po na ibalik muli itong bagay na ito sa IATF dahil meron naman talagang pagpupulong ang IATF bukas maski na holiday po dahil May 1 (Because we cannot turn a deaf ear on these complaints, I have asked the IATF to reconsider this because the IATF has a meeting tomorrow even if it a holiday),” Roque told a television interview.
TRANSPORTATION
Artemio Tuazon Jr. DOTr undersecretary, said the government is ready for the gradual opening of public transportation such as buses, jeepneys, tricycles, transport network vehicle services (TNVS), railways, airlines and seaports at reduced capacity as some areas move to GCQ.
Martin Delgra III, chairman of the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said not all buses and jeepneys with franchise will be allowed to operate under GCQ. Delgra also said operators need to first secure a permit and buses and jeepneys are required to undergo inspection for road worthiness by the Land Transportation Office before they will be allowed to resume.
The LTFRB will prioritize giving permits to modernized jeepney operators, Delgra said
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the DOTr is considering the grant of fuel subsidy to drivers equivalent to 30 percent of their fuel daily consumption since they will only be operating at a 50 percent capacity.
Tricycles will be allowed to operate but with only one passenger.
Motorcycle taxi operators such as Angkas, Joyride, Moveit will continue to be suspended even under GCQ as their scheme violates the social distancing protocol.
For railways, the Metro Rail Transit line 3, Philippine National Railways (PNR) and Light Railway Transit Line 2 (LRT-2) are ready to operate starting Monday next week for frontliners while partial cargo services in Southern Luzon will be allowed, according to Jun Magno, PNR general manager.
Once the National Capital Region is placed under GCQ, Magno said railways will operate at a reduced capacity of 25 percent to ensure compliance with social distancing rules inside the railways. He said the DOTr is looking at implementing an online reservation scheme to reduce the long queues at railway terminals.
For airlines, the government is studying how the social distancing will be implemented inside aircraft, said Carmelo Arcilla, Civil Aeronautics Board executive director.
Aside from reduced capacity, new airport measures will also be implemented: the provision of sanitation items and footbaths in every entry and exit points, and observance of routine disinfection of frequently touched/exposed surfaces and equipment, such as security screening equipment and trays at the security checkpoint and baggage areas.
To help airlines recover from the losses due to impact of COVID-19 pandemic, the DOTr has started implementing a one-year deferment of landing and takeoff and parking fees for domestic and international flights for all domestic commercial carriers starting March 12. This will be in effect until March 12, 2021.
The DOTr also extended the lease/rental holiday from March 15 to May 15 for airport concessionaires under CAAP.
For seaports, Jay Bautista, Philippine Port Authority (PPA) general manager, reported the operation at Manila ports have returned to normal with yard utilization at 70 percent as of April 29 from 96 percent in March this year.
CHECKPOINTS
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said checkpoints will be retained in areas whose status will be downgraded to GCQ.
Año said the checkpoints are needed to ensure that residents will continue to comply with GCQ protocols, including the mandatory of wearing of face mask and observance of social distancing.
“There will still be checkpoints (in the GCQ areas). The implementation of the guidelines, like physical distancing and wearing of mask, is still important in the GCQ areas,” the DILG chief said.
Año said authorities implementing the quarantine protocols will remain strict when it comes to violations. He said violators in the GCQ areas will be arrested – the same policy in Metro Manila and other areas that will remain under ECQ. — With Myla Iglesias and Victor Reyes
